R643 Rumination for 04 June, 2017

The Theme: Mary…Anointed the Feet of Jesus

The Text: Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus,

and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Jn. 12:3

The Thots:

  1. Mary At the Feet of Jesus.

Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, appeared only three times in the New Testament.

All the three occasions she was found at the Feet of Jesus.

  1. Mary at the Feet of Jesus to learn from Him HisWord.Lk. 10:39

Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His Word.

  1. Mary at the Feet of Jesus Weeping for her brother, Lazarus.Jn. 11:32, 33

When Mary was come where Jesus was…she fell down at His feet…Weeping…

  1. Mary at the Feet of Jesus Worshiping – she anointed His feet.Jn. 12:3a

Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus

  1. Mary Anointed the Feet of Jesus.Jn. 12:3a(see #3 above)
  1. She Poured out a Pound of Spikenardto anoint the Feet of Jesus.
  2. The Price for the Spikenard was three hundred Pence – about a year’s wage for a labourer.12:5a
  3. She took the Position of humility Placing her “glory” at His feet – she wiped His feet with her hair.

–Her Hair was her glory, but she laid it at Jesus feet!12:3b cf. I Cor. 11:15

  1. The PerfumePermeated the House –12:3b, HCSB

So the house was Filled with the Fragrance of the oil.

  1. Mary came with a Heart Prepared to Worship the Lord.See #1-3 above.

At the feet of Jesus, Listening to His word; Learning wisdom’s Lesson from her Loving Lord;

Mary, led by heav’nly grace, Chose the meek disciple’s place. At the feet of Jesus Is the place for me,

There a humble learner Would I choose to be.

At the feet of Jesus, Pouring perfume rare, Mary did her Savior For the grave prepare;

And, from love the good work done, She her Lord’s approval won. At the feet of Jesus Is the place for me,

There, in sweetest service Would I ever be.Philip P. Bliss

  1. Judas came out with a Hypocritical Profession to Help the Poor.12:4-6, NKJV

Judas…said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"

  1. His Heart was not in his Boast – not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief
  2. His Hands were in the money Box – and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
  1. The Jews came not so much toHear Jesus but more to see Lazarus.

Much people of the Jews therefore knew that He was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only,

but that they might see Lazarus also, whom He had raised from the dead.12:9

  1. They were Present but their Heart was Absent.
  2. They were Present but their Hands were empty.Cf. Deut. 16:16b

Ct. …they shall not appear before the LORD empty.

  1. Jesus’ Answer to the Audience’s Criticisms.Jn. 12:7, 8

Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of My burying hath she kept this.
For the poor always ye have with you; but Me ye have not always.

  1. Regarding Mary’s Anointing of Jesus’ Feet – it was in Anticipation of Jesus Death and Burial.

Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.12:7

She must have learned this at the Feet of Jesus.See #A.1 above.

  1. Referring to Judas’ Alternative to Mary’s use of the spikenard – 12:4, 5

Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"

The Reply of Jesus:

  1. The Poor would always be Present – For the poor always ye have with you;12:8a

There would always be opportunities to help them.

  1. Jesus’ Person would soon be no more – but Me ye have not always. 12:8b
    He would soon be killed and be buried!12:7Cf. Mt. 16:21

From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed…

  1. But He would…be raised again the third day.
  1. Our Responsibility is to Remember Jesus’ Death, Burial, Resurrection and Return Again.I Cor. 11:23-26

The Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: And when He had given thanks,

He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me.
After the same manner also He took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come.

At the feet of Jesus, In that morning hour, Loving hearts, receiving Resurrection power,
Haste with joy to preach the word; Christ is risen, praise the Lord!

At the feet of Jesus, Risen now for me, I shall sing His praises Through eternity.Philip P. Bliss

REFLECTIONS FOR THE WEEKR643

  1. Worship today is a very misunderstood and variously-interpreted word.

One popular notion of it isto come into the so-called presence of Godto be Entertained. The person comes …

  1. Empty-Hearted (with nothing in the heart to tell a Loving God);

Ct. The Psalmist: My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Psa. 45:1

Cf.My heart is moved by a noble theme as I recite my verses to the king;

my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. HCSB

  1. Empty-Headed with nothing to meditate upon concerning the Living God;

Cf. O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!Stuart K. Hine

  1. Empty-Handed with nothing to bring along as his sacrifices and offerings of Love.

The Lord Himself had imposed a condition on all who would appear before His presence.They must come prepared with something tooffer! Deut. 16:16
Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which He shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks,

and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty.

The first occurrence of “worship” in the Old Testament in the King James Authorised Version (KJV) of the Bible is found in Gen. 22:5:

And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

And Abraham brought along his son, “thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest…and offer him there for a burnt offering”as instructed by the Lord Himself.(Gen. 22:2)

The first occurrence of “worship” in the New Testament in the KJV is found in Matt. 2:2 –

When the Magi came to search for the new-born King - Saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him…

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures,

they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. (Mt. 2:11)

True Worship requires the Worshipper to come with personal gifts to present to the One Worshipped. It is to please God in the way He declares He ought to be worshipped, not in the way we think He ought to be worshipped – God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:24). We must worship Him as led by His Spirit and (not in our flesh) and according to the truth of His Word.

Are you worshipping God aright?REFLECT.

  1. Yet today’s Worshipper comes to a “worship” Service so called Empty-Hearted, Empty-Headed and Empty-Handed – sitting down and Hoping to Hear and Enjoy what is presented by others in the service! He has nothing of a personal experience to Express to God His Appreciation of Who God is and What God has done for him because he knows of no such relationship with Him in His daily Walk to Worship Him then – he has no burnt offering or fruits of the lips to offer His God. He has not been worshipping his God in life!

By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. (Heb. 13:15)

What is your contribution and presentation to worship Him with today?REFLECT.

Points To Ponder:True Worship is not to Receive from God but to Give to God!